No one saw it on the cameras, that he'd whispered in her ear. And his mic didn't pick up what he said when he held her from behind as Merritt's arms provided a shield. That's how he'd wanted it.
But everyone saw when she responded to his words and kissed him, the whole world saw; and then they were gone again.
That night, the first of the year, was spent hundreds of feet below Greenwich Observatory in London, in a tangle of sweaty limbs and searing kisses, and fingers on smooth skin. Of short breaths and gasped names and sweet, sweet release. She was nothing like other girls, that was for sure.
Oh, she was all woman, there was no denying, but she rode him as his fingers gripped at her hips, keeping the rhythm going all through her release and his too. And after, she didn't feel the need to cling to him, she rolled off him and collapsed in a sated heap beside him, lying face down and telling him that "Fuck man, that was the best sex I've ever had, but I need to sleep." And he laughed and gave into the tiredness that consumed him suddenly. He woke up in the morning like that, his arm across her back and his hand curled around her waist.
Getting back to the States was easy; The Eye had made sure they got back safe, unseen, hidden in the shadows. They were whisked to a huge penthouse apartment, all clean lines and old furniture, bookcases stuffed full of books on magic. Flat screen TV's in every bedroom, four poster beds and deep bathtubs. It was close quarters, but it was just a stop gap. None of them ever called it a hideout, but that's what the big house was. No, not the house, the mansion. They'd earned it, according to The Eye.
The mansion kept all together, there was after all, safety in numbers. But it kept allowed them all their own space too, something they were all glad of when Danny started to get edgy. It was the not knowing that drove him nuts. And Jack was just happy to be able to be with Lula.
They fit far better together than Jack had ever thought possible. After all, his track record was, as Merritt had put it "Somewhat lacking in the moral compass department." But he'd never felt the need to steal her trust because she gave it to him freely. And he gave his to her. Oh, she'd still steal his belt, but more as a signal that she wanted to sneak off for some 'together fun'.
When they weren't working on new tricks, or trading skills, they spent a fair slice of their time in bed, or in the shower, or occassionly in the kitchen when they knew the others were engrossed with other things. There was even that one time when they were watching a movie with the others. For people that saw everything, they'd missed how his hand had slipped under the blanket that was covering her knees, and slid softly up her smooth leg until it reached the hem of her black cotton shorts. They'd missed how her breath hitched as he slipped his fingers inside her and slowly, oh so slowly, moved until she shuddered. Ok, so Danny had noticed that, but he'd just asked how she could be cold sitting cuddled up to Jack, wearing a flannel shirt and cocooned in a huge blanket in the middle of May. Her answer that she thought she might be coming down with something and she was going to take a warm bath had had Jack leaving the room right behind her telling the others he was going to see if she was ok. That had been a fun night.
But there was more to them than just sex, more that connected them than magic or their shared experiences of shitty childhoods. Everyone had guessed, two weeks after they all moved into the house, what Jack had whispered in Lula's ear that night on the Thames. The words 'I love you', that had been repeated back into his mouth as they'd kissed. And ever since that night they'd been together, stuck like glue. And he hoped that he wasn't barking up the wrong tree when he fingered the small velvet box in his pocket.